PEPC to decide on Labour Party's request to broadcast proceedings live on May 22
In opposing the petitioners' application for live broadcast, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), through its counsel, Mr. Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, also adopted all its counter processes.
The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) will on May 22 deliver a ruling on whether or not to grant the request by the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, for a live broadcast of the proceedings of the court.
Supreme reports that the LP and its presidential candidate had filed an application asking that the proceedings of the court be televised live.
At the resumed hearing on Friday, counsel to the petitioners, Mr. Awa Kalu, SAN, adopted all the processes he filed on behalf of his clients in defense of their application for live broadcast of proceedings of the court.
In opposing the petitioners' application for live broadcast, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), through its counsel, Mr. Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, also adopted all its counter processes.
Mahmoud prayed the court to rely on the same to dismiss the application of the petitioners.
Similarly, Mr. Wole Olanipekun, SAN, counsel to Sen. Bola Tinubu and Mr. Kashim Shettima, as well as Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, counsel to the All Progressives Congress (APC), also adopted the processes they filed in opposition to the application for live broadcast.
Both senior counsels urged the court to dismiss the application, saying it was a strange one.
Having taken all arguments into consideration, the chairman of the court, Justice Haruna Tsammani, fixed May 22 to rule on the application.
Justice Tsammani also advised all the counsels to put their heads together and agree on how many witnesses each would call and the time to be allotted to each counsel to canvass their argument.
Earlier, in what appeared to be an effort to quell the tension that arose on Wednesday when two people announced representation for the Labour Party, Obi announced that he was representing himself and the party.
This was in spite of the presence of the factional chairman, Mr. Lamidi Apapa, and the acting women's leader, Mrs. Dudu Maluga, who had announced their presence as representing the party on Wednesday when factions of the party clashed in court.